The present invention relates to apparatus for preparing a package containing a plurality of frozen confections, such as ice-cream bricks. More specifically it relates to apparatus for transferring frozen confections from a supply conveyor to a discharge conveyor in such a way that every other confection is rotated 180.degree. about a vertical axis relative to the remaining confections.
It is known that the operation of assembling a plurality of frozen confections into a package can be facilitated and the volume of the package can be reduced when the confections are arranged with their holding sticks pointing alternately in opposite directions relative to the body of the respective confection. The volume reduction results in an appreciable saving of packaging material and a reduction of the space occupied by the packages during their transportion and storage, such as in a cold-storage room and/or in a retailer's shop.
As far as the inventors know, there has till now not existed any industrially applicable apparatus capable of receiving a single row of frozen confections from a production or wrapping machine and delivering the confections to a packaging station in the desired configuration mentioned above.
In Danish Patent Specification No. 112 504 there is disclosed an apparatus to which individually wrapped confections are supplied in two parallel rows with the holding sticks of the confections in either row pointing towards the other row. In the apparatus the confections are tilted on edge and pushed laterally towards each other whereby they are interleaved to form one row of closely spaced confections. Groups each including a suitable number of confections can then be transferred from the row to a package. The two preceding wrapping machines required for feeding the apparatus with two rows of confections result in an increase of the costs of the complete production plant, and continuous operation of the plant is difficult in case of a temporary stoppage of one wrapping machine.